Glasgow Arrival-Not the Frozen Tundra that we expected

Clearly we made it out of Newark and had a planned 6 hour flight to Glasgow. By the time we boarded, it was around 7 PM (Florida time)....which was actually 1 AM (Glasgow time.) This made us immediately tired. Dinner came around 8 pm and few of us were actually very hungry. I can say that I have had better airplane food, but I don't think food quality was our first concern.

How to sleep comfortably on an overseas flight.........hmmm, fly First Class. We did the best that we could and most of us got some sort of 'shut-eye' though few of us agreed that it was any kind of quality sleep. Some did the impossible and watched the second and third run movies all night....to put it into perspective....one of the movies was "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner".....a 1970 move, I believe!  I personally snapped yet another pair of ear buds early on, so I just gave up and snuggled up to my air pillow. There are some things that I will never get!

Arriving in Glasgow was interesting....turbulently interesting....wow, the last hour or so of the trip was very bouncy, but we were oh so glad to touch down on the runway! The sleepy heads heard 6 degrees and were ready for the frozen tundra, The ones who function as 'morning people' actually heard the part that said....in Farenheight, it is ...... and were quite happy with 42 degrees.  All in all, a quite beautiful day.

Our tour guide (Terry) and bus driver (Davey) are old friends and quite a pair. We have a Londoner's accent and a true Scot! Of course, they say that WE are the ones with accents, but we all know that Americans, and specifically Floridians DO NOT have accents!

They took us around Glasgow and what a city it is! It is both ancient and very modern...actually the largest city in Scotland. The kids spotted all kinds of interesting things, including a school!

One of the stand-out moments was when we stopped to see the oldest cathedral in Glasgow. Part of it is being restored and it is truly an example of not judging 'a book by its cover'....or a person by outward appearances for that matter. We enjoyed the walk beside the church cemetery and the new cemetery up the hill. At some point we took crazy photos like the cemetery and the construction sign that said "Men working overhead"....and kids as statues, because my camera shoots black and white.....
But back to the church.....just incredible. It needed a pressure washing, but was no less interesting and we got to walk into rooms under the transcept. There was also a crypt and St. Mungo was buried there. Wait until your students tell you about it!

Other adventures included discovering that some of the kids got what they call a 'presidential suite' and others got a room that looked as American as you and me. The surprised in Europe are always so much fun! The most interesting one was Mr. Corey's SINGLE room. Actually it quite appeared to be a very nicely appointed bathroom with a single bed in it.....more stories to come!

Because we did not dare let anyone sit still for more than 30 minutes, much less have a chance to lie down....off we went to walk around the lovely city of Glasgow. We got to stop at a mall, not totally unlike ours, including  "Everything's A Pound"    (ie: Dollar Store)  .....and at least one family will be getting post cards because we found a post office...(Herrold!).....and then there were the crepes......nutella crepes...mmmmmm.

Did I mention the pedicure where the goldfish eat the dead skin off your feet.....yes.

And off to Calton Hill....whooo...brisk wind and the sun was going down but wait until you see the photos overlooking Glasgow. As soon as I can do a download, I will  post some photos, but some sleep is needed first!

Right now the students are journaling and working on a challenge....while I blog...yea for multitasking!.....

And then....off to dinner...of an Indian variety tonight...and then showers and bed. THis has been the longest 36 hours EVER...and no one wants an energy drink....they want SLEEP. I hope no one falls into their soup at dinner!

NOTE: I can iphone and post photos to facebook, so I am going to try that. If you want to be on FB with me, just do a friend request (Judi Tome)...If I know you, I will friend you...If I don't ..then message me.

As we put our heads on our pillows tonight, we will be thinking about how we should not expect everything to be the same, and we really should not just people, or places by the outside. There is some kind of beauty in even the most drab of places, or people.....and in the center of it all....there is a Loving God who just wants us to spend some quality time with Him.

Rest well, my friends. We will!

Rest Time - Wait Time ...Patience is a virtue!

Most of you know that I had to resort to email last night. We found 'somewhat free' internet at Newark Airport....if you sat in just the right spot and could pick it up from the United Club above the food court...clever people that we are! Of course, in order to get much of anything, the planets also had to line up!

The short version is that the plane finally arrived and we departed only thirty minutes late....if you want to know more about our day....read on!


....Newark Airport   Wednesday Afternoon January 4, 2012

We can call it ‘rest time’…or ‘chill time’…though it is not so chilly here (in Newark) ….still warm air is a bit more like it. We arrived in Newark around 3 PM but the flight from Orlando did not exactly feed us. There is no ‘exactly’ about it. They sold everything but did not even give airplane peanuts, unless I slept through it. But I did have my typical tomato juice (no ice) and glass of gingerale…..hydration is good stuff!

The flight was fairly uneventful. We found truth in the Scripture that tells us that the ….the last shall be first and the first shall be last……in airplane terms. Our sweet ‘first of the alphabet’ young lady was the FIRST to get to board (after First Class, of course)…..but she was on the LAST row of the airplane! But…what a sweet spirit she had….and true to the wisdom of my own baby girl, who flies a lot….as soon as they said the cabin door was closing, Miss A spoted a better seat (empty) and snagged it!  Thank you Karin for that bit of insight! First Class was full so I did not get upgraded…..oh, I would not have anyway! 

It feels like we have been up all day! Moving slowly does that to you, which speaks volumes for the wisdom in having places to go and people to see! We had varied and interesting lunches in the Newark Airport…mostly healthy…..I just saw the ice cream coming through…..the kids will be ready for naps next! Some are already planning out their sleep time!

Some of us got to see the Statue of Liberty on the way in….what a site! It is one of those things that brings a thrill to your heart and it will even more-so when we return to the United States. There is nothing like travel abroad to make you really appreciate what you have here…..and if it does not….it should!

We have our rooming assignments – check your handbook if you want to see where your students are. Look at the Quad listing. The guys are SO EXCITED that they each have their own bed! (You have to travel with a lot of guys to understand this…I never stop laughing at some of the guys’ rooming stories I have heard over the years…they are problem solvers, that is for sure!) A Quad in Europe generally means four twin beds in a room…a double is two twin beds….same room….only the bed quantity changes. We are so spoiled in the States! But this is what memories are made of!

I thought everyone would be more lively during this layover, but the kids are reading, chatting, texting…they might as well enjoy the texting because it will soon be much more expensive! And I would have no wi-fi at all if it were not for these clever kiddos who know how to figure it out!

The charging of equipment continues with the few plugs we can find……we will keep in touch as much as we can, and hopefully I can figure out how to get some photos on this blog. I tried but it kept shutting down. Hello out there…iphone to facebook to email to blog…..technology….don’t you LOVE it!

Keep us in your prayers….pray that we get at least a few winks of quality rest on our flight across the ocean!